Jeannette Edris Barragar Bartley McDonnell Rockefeller was born July 13, 1918, in Seattle, Washington. David Skinner, Jeannette’s grandfather, founded the Skinner & Eddy Shipyard, a shipyard known for the building of World War I naval vessels. David Skinner became a wealthy man due to the shipyard’s success. Because of family wealth, Jeannette spent a privileged youth in Seattle. She participated in the debutante world of parties, luncheons, and charity work.
In the late 1940s, Jeannette moved to New York City and began her charity work with troubled adolescents. During her time in New York, she met Winthrop Rockefeller, grandson of John D. Rockefeller, Sr., and the future thirty-seventh governor of Arkansas (1967-1971). On June 11, 1956, Jeannette married Winthrop at the summer home of her father, William Edris, in Hayden Lake, Idaho. That summer, the couple moved to Winrock Farms on Petit Jean Mountain in central Arkansas. With Winrock Farms as her base, Jeannette became an arts promoter, social activist, and First Lady of Arkansas. (https://www.beyondbeaute.com/)
(Jeannette’s papers are available as a part of the Winthrop Rockefeller Collection (ualr.ms.0001). Find out more by visiting the finding aid online.)
